In May 2011, five young men were killed by police at African Barrick Gold’s North Mara mine in Tanzania, following an intrusion by artisanal miners and local people onto the company site. The incident generated significant national and international attention and concern, placing the security practices of one of the world’s major gold-mining corporations under intense scrutiny. In response to the incident, ABG increased both hard and soft security measures at all of its Tanzanian operations. A three-metre-high security wall, complete with razor wire, now surrounds many of the company’s concessions, and a raft of enhanced security measures seeks to exclude the neighbouring communities as well as potential ‘intruders’ from the mines. Yet at the same time, ABG expanded its community development programmes, and international NGOs, community leaders and non-state policing actors are now part of a strategy that seeks to achieve security through development and community engagement....
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